Western Tool & Fabrication is owned and operated by Matt Yore. Matt has a Masters degree in engineering and has nearly completed a Doctorate in engineering. Matt earned a bachelors of science degree from the BioResource and Agricultural Engineering Department of California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Between classes at Cal Poly and almost every evening and weekend, Matt could be found in "Shop 7". The "Learn-By-Doing" approach at Cal Poly fit Matt perfectly. It was only at Shop 7, where an engineering student could find out that a HP48GX and an engineering economics textbook could be used as a tire chock for a tractor pull sled (true story). The BRAE dept at Cal Poly is famous for giving students that extra experience to make the transition from textbooks to real world problems. Matt graduated with honors in 1999. Matt went on to graduate school at the University of California, Davis where he worked on two main projects in the Biological and Agricultural Engineering Dept. Matt earned a Masters of Science in Engineering in 2001 after developing and testing rice stubble cutting attachments for a combine harvester. Matt is currently finishing the requirements for a Doctor of Engineering degree for work involving salt recovery from agricultural drainage water and expects to have the degree in 2007. While at UC Davis, Matt continued to spend as much as possible in the machine shops and also taught machining and welding classes. It was the complete process from design to final product that always caught Matt's attention. During Matt's years at the universities, he was able to work with many great professors and an amazing group of students. This diverse newtork of collegues is invaluable to Matt and your projects.

It is difficult to pinpoint the actual birth of Western Tool & Fabrication. Was it in 2006 when Matt relocated to Yuma, AZ and opened the doors to the new shop? Was it in 2004 when there were chips flying from a CNC mill in an old dairy barn outside of Dixon, CA? Was it in 2002 when the glow from a tig welder lit up the streets (and upset some landlords) from a garage in Davis? Was it in 1998 when the first metal cutting bandsaw was purchased and carried into the dining room of an apartment in San Luis Obispo? Or was it in 1988 when Matt started putting together his own woodshop because one hour a day in junior high just wasn't enough shop time? Its hard to tell, but one thing is for certain: Western Tool & Fabrication is now available for all of your design and manufacturing needs!